From alt.pub.dragons-inn Wed Feb 23 10:26:13 1994 Xref: netcom.com alt.pub.dragons-inn:7052 Path: netcom.com!csus.edu!wupost!howland.reston.ans.net!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!news.ysu.edu!psuvm!asg102 Organization: Penn State University Date: Mon, 21 Feb 1994 20:54:07 EST From: The Dreamer Message-ID: <94052.205407ASG102@psuvm.psu.edu> Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Subject: [Kidnap] Kim Meets The Cobra Lines: 186 ADMIN: This is the third post of the [Kidnap] series involving Kim (Ben Gerber), Brent (Mike Sander), and Trawm (The Dreamer). Thanks go to everyone who made comments on the first posts. Copyright 1993. What Has Gone Before: Kim has just been "asked" by his thieves' coven to kidnap the son of a wealthy merchant. Two other people will be helping him. He is supposed to meet them in the Spitting Cobra. -=-=- Kim walked out of the 'office' of the guild, took a quick turn to the left down a back alley, gave a signal to a beggar sitting by an old cart, took a right, then a left, climbed up a short ladder to the roof of a small building, ran across the roof, stepped over to the next building, climbed down a slightly longer ladder, walk across the narrow alley and opened the door to his home. His "home" was actually a small room behind a brothel. The guild had rewarded him with the room after a particularly profitable and tricky burglary. It was considered an honor in the guild when they put you up, especially if they did so before your 18th birthday. There, in the privacy of his home, he opened the small package to examine its contents. It contained a note and twenty freshly minted gold coins. Kim eagerly counted and then recounted the money, then moved on to the note. He spent some time deciphering the mangled handwriting of Victor. It said: Go to the Spiting Cobra (scribble) Where you will Find a big (black mark) named Trom. Talk to him, and tel him about the job. He will help you. Then look for a (squiggly line) guard who should be there. He will help you to. Dont skrew up. Vic There then followed a detailed description of where and when to do the job, with a map of a small part of Merchant's Hill smeared by a coffee stain. Kim regarded this for a few minutes, and decided that a short nap was in order before any action was taken. He took the coins out of their pouch, and placed them under a loose board beneath his bed, where they would be safe for the time being. This done, he fluffed up his straw filled pillow, closed his eyes, and drifted off... -=-=- When Kim woke from his nap, it was already dark. He peeked out the door and could tell by the position of the stars that it was still a few hours before midnight. Some thieves used roads and alleyways to get around at night, just like someone with honest business. Kim preferred to take a different route to lessen the risk of being picked up by the Town Guard. A few guards could be bribed, like the one he was supposed to meet tonight, but it's best to avoid the situation all together. Besides, the twisting, irregular streets of Low City were notorious for getting people lost, or steering them into some form of trouble. Instead, Kim was one of many thieves who opted to use what was called "The Highway". Since most of the buildings in Low City were close together and around the same height, it was possible to move along the rooftops. Still, this route wasn't for everyone. It took some skill to get to The Highway in the first place, a fine-tuned ability to jump across some of the alleys, and the fortitude to not accidently look down. Kim climbed the side of another brothel a few buildings down from his residence by using windows and loose bricks as a series of handholds. Some thoughtful sneakthief of ages past had designed this particular road up to The Highway, seemingly with Kim in mind. Once he was at the top, he surveyed the buildings surrounding him. It was a very quiet night, and he saw no movement. He sped along the rooftops, occasionaly stopping to check his bearings and rest, as well as to check for other traffic. After about twenty minutes of travel, he lightly made his way to the ground a few alleys over from the Spitting Cobra. -=-=- The Spitting Cobra was no place for young men to hang out. The 'Cobra was even considered too much for several classes of heros, soldiers, and professional brawlers. It is also said that if you wanted a fight, there were two good places to go: a war, and the Spitting Cobra. Kim forced himself to his full height of about five feet four. He took three deep breaths and tried to look as menacing as his fifteen year old body would allow. With a puffed-out chest and a slight swagger, Kim pushed the door open and stepped confidently inside. He was immediately hit by the strong smell of stale beer, and something else, something he was sort of glad he couldn't identify. Luckily for Kim, the tavern was packed tonight, so he could hide in the crowd easily. Most of the patrons were crowded around a large stone-lined fighting pit in the center of the room. He couldn't see what was happening in there, but from the sound of splintering bones, it was a nasty fight. A few moments later, it was all over. Coins flashed between the dirty hands of the bar's patrons as they returned to their seats; their bloodlust was satisfied...at least temporarily. Kim looked around the room. Since he didn't travel in this part of the city much, he didn't know anything about Trawm except for a few rumors. He was supposed to be big, ugly, and an excellent fighter; that description eliminated maybe three people in the bar. Kim sighed and scratched his head. He hadn't expected so many people in the bar, but then he saw the reason why. It seemed that the owners of the bar had caught some sort of deformed creature. For the fighting pit. It was large, hairy, and it seemed to be composed of a collection of mismatched parts piled in the corner; it was watching over the room as if it were... hungry? Kim shuddered and turned away. That was one thing he didn't want to meet in a dark alley. Thinking logically, Kim decided to find the biggest and most dangerous looking guy in the place and ask about Trawm. He selected a few likely candidated and then decided to approach the guy with the biggest sword. He put on his most dangerous look and approached the man from behind. Tapping him on the shoulder, he asked, "Are you Trawm?" The man turned around and laughed, "Do I look like Trawm, Little One?" "Well, yes. You match the description --" *THUMP!* -=-=- When Kim woke up, he saw the horribly deformed monster from earlier staring back at him. He screamed in instinct and prayed that this was a nightmare. Images filled his head of being stuffed into this creature's mouth...whole. He squirmed, trying to get away, but the monster held him tightly. "Hey kid, you gotta stop movin' 'round so much or I is gonna haveta pop ya one," the creature spoke through a mouthful of sharp teeth. Kim's face turned pale and he felt light-headed. He stopped moving for a second and tried to look the thing in the face again. "Yo, kid. Yer heart is gonna burst if ya keep freakin'. I know, I seen it before. I ain't gonna clean it up neither an' Sugob ain't gonna wanta do it." The monster's face wrinkled in odd places. It was almost like a smile gone horribly wrong. "Hey, if you let me go, I can give you a lot of money. I'm rich you know." Kim lied. Anything to get him out of the fiend's grip. "You ain't rich. If ya was, den you is really dumb fer comin' inta my place with any jangles." "_Your_ place? You're Trawm?" "Right da first time. Ya got some smarts after all." Trawm released his grip and looked Kim over quickly. "You is gonna be fine now. So I'll letcha be 'bout yer biznes --" "Wait," Kim interrupted him, "I need to ask you something." The half-troll paused in thought for a second, before the weird smile appeared again. "Oh, you pro'bly want ta know 'bout dat masc dat hit ya. Don't worry, I took car a' him for ya." Noticing the kid still wanted to speak, Trawm continued, "An' ya don't need ta thank me. It was fun." He flashed a row of teeth that looked like they didn't all belong in the same mouth. "No, that's not what I meant. I'm supposed to talk to you about a job." "Oh, den you is da one dat Shannon told me 'bout. So, what's da deal?" "I'll wait for our other partner to show up before I talk about that." Kim glanced around the bar, again looking for likely candidates. Trawm couldn't help but do the same, even though he didn't know what he was looking for. After a few seconds, he noticed that Kim's stare had locked onto something. "What? Do ya see 'im?" "Er, no. I was just looking at that scruffy half-elf and that lady. It seems like a weird match." Trawm said nothing, but his face grew even more dark and distorted, if that was possible. He started to head over to them, even as the woman yelled, "Trawm! This guy is hassling me!..." Kim followed. He was compelled to see what would happen. And besides, around Trawm, he was sure no one else in the bar would bother him. Love and Peace and Honest Mistakes, -The Dreamer-